Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Elvenking - The Night of Nights - Live (2015)
Since forming in 1997, Elvenking has made their nearly 3-decade journey of blending the power metal of Blind Guardian and Helloween with the folk metal of Skyclad. They were one of my favorite bands of that sound when I was listening to a lot of those two genres at the time when this live album first came out. And revisiting them all those years later, the best live renditions of songs from their first 8 albums are all in here!
The Night of Nights consists of a special concert filled with different guests. Two hours of material from all their albums at the time in incredible live quality to please fans new and old. Released in December 2015, it was a spectacular early Christmas gift that has something for every Elvenking listener.
The folky intro "The Manifesto" starts it all. I was kinda hoping it would leading to that 13-minute epic "King of the Elves", but that doesn't happen. At least we really blast off with a classic in "Trows Kind", which I once thought was their own take on DragonForce's "Through the Fire and Flames". But that's nothing compared to the highlight that is another track from The Winter Wake, "The Wanderer". You can really rock out to the happiness and sorrow from the guitars and violins. It is one of those tracks that test out your enjoyment for this band. If you love that song, you'll love this band and the rest of this offering. Otherwise you're out of here. Everything has the right amount of cheese in this Gamma Ray-gone-Skyclad sound. "Runereader" from Red Silent Tides has the band's typical including and epic blend of metal sections and acoustic bridges. "Pagan Revolution" is fun banger of folky power metal worth many listens. The guitars, drums, and vocals are all energetic without ever relying on overproduction. This is probably my second-favorite track of Pagan Manifesto behind that 13-minute epic.
"She Lives at Dawn" is a short melancholic interlude from their acoustic/hard rock album Two Tragedy Poets. Nothing much is added here other than a nice break from all that metal fun. "Jigsaw Puzzle" is a wonderful surprise, originally in their only album without lead vocalist Damnagoras, Wyrd. Lots of Maiden-esque guitar and bass melody there. "Elvenlegions" is another short track that can still provide a lot from the band. Amazing as f***! "The Cabal" is quite catchy, and I can hear why that was released as a single. Another short atmospheric interlude "A Prayer to Cernunnos" is exclusive to this offering, basically just some eerie narration.
"Moonbeam Stone Circle" shows an increase of maturity in the band's sound, though it's still their usual folk/power metal. The melody/rhythm interplay stays strong as ever. Then comes a drum solo by Symohn with background electronic noise, aptly titled "Symohn's Bash". Quite a unique addition to the setlist! The amazing "From Blood to Stone" follows. Despite being pretty much all acoustic, I enjoy the non-electric riffing and the chorus I can almost sing along to, "Fall-ing, fall-ing!" One of the only tracks I love from Two Tragedy Poets, and one of the only acoustic folk tracks I love in general. We finally get a song from the band's classic debut Heathenreel, "Skywards". It also starts off sounding acoustic then rises into metal, even heading close to black metal. "Disillusion's Reel" allows you to take a breather as an ethereal acoustic ballad.
Then disc 1 ends, and disc 2 begins with "Elven Aftermath", an intermission track with samples of songs that weren't performed. The band comes back on with perhaps the centerpiece of this entire offering, the debut's epic "Seasonspeech". The original track included guest vocals from different vocalists, with each one representing one of the 4 seasons. Here the band stands by that aspect with two guests, female vocalists Chiara Tricarico and Whisperwind. In between the metal sections is a flute-infused acoustic bridge. And we can't forgot about the glorious ending climax. You want something from the Era album, you got it with "Through Wolf's Eyes", which is more folky while still metal. And how about the sole track chosen from the "controversial" The Scythe, "The Divided Heart". The riffing and soloing has certainly made that track a memorable one. "Neverending Nights" is another great epic! It dives deep into winter darkness, a little unlike their happier side of folky power metal. Very well done, those not as festive as "Seasonspeech". Some more headbanging power metal comes on in "The Winter Wake", which has more experimentation, particularly in the original version's guest vocals by Destruction vocalist Marcel Schmier. A solid way to end the concert, before the well-deserved encore...
As the encore approaches its start, an orchestral overture "Era Theme" plays. Then comes one more song from Era, "The Loser". This is the song that marked Symohn's entrance into the band, since Era was his first album with Elvenking. His drumming is out of this world, in perfect synergy with the folk and metal sides of the coin. No sh*t, just THE SH*T. He can do all this complex stuff at ease, and it just adds to the fantastic magic of this song. And the fact that they saved that song for the encore shows how much confidence he and the rest of the band have. There's one more track for the encore, but that doesn't come until after the flute/string intro "To Oak Woods Bestowed". You all know where this is going... The show ends with the one track that started their journey, and also the one that got me into listening to Elvenking, "Pagan Purity". The vocals and guitars shine for their last round, the latter assisted by two more guests, former members Jarpen and Gorlan.
The concert can be viewed on DVD or listened to in two CDs, and if you get the DVD, you also get some music videos they've made over the years and a teaser for Pagan Manifesto. The Night of Nights is a night for new and longtime Elvenking fans to remember, and you don't wanna miss out on getting your hands on this live gem!
Favorites (one or two tracks per album plus one new track): "The Wanderer", "Runereader", "Pagan Revolution", "Jigsaw Puzzle", "Elvenlegions", "Symohn's Bash", "From Blood to Stone", "Seasonspeech", "Through Wolf's Eyes", "The Divided Heart", "Neverending Nights", "The Loser", "Pagan Purity"